Saturday, February 23, 2008

10 of my favourite websites/blogs

These ten websites are the ones that I visit the most on an almost daily basis. They're informative, concise and packed with knowledge aplenty. Dive in, they're all ace.

Tyler Askew


Tyler has been blogging a while now for Japanese wesbite Maround and his blog is incredibly enlightening and covers ground from design to music with a great eye for the aesthetic. I particularly like the fact that Tyler is a typography junkie and I have gotten many a font from his recommendations. Tyler is also a former correspondent for World Wide and Straight No Chaser and previously ran a night called Rude Movements at APT and now runs the highly promising My Favorite Things. Read his blog here.

The Hundreds


I have to admit that I am not the greatest fan of The Hundreds' clothing range but I am an avid reader of Bobby Hundreds' blog as it is an honest account of the streetwear market today written without bias and with a huge dollop of humour. He's also more than willing to lend a helping hand to anyone starting a brand and most certainly seems to have his heart in the right place. Read his highly informative blog here.

Rope-a-dope


I've been reading Rope-a-dope for years and it is my first stop for anything jazz/funk/soul related but it doesn't just stop there, it covers a wide range of topics and from time to time can be highly political, which I like. Again, I respect this one for its honesty and I hardly know about any of the artists or people that they cover but they do it in a way that makes me want to seek them out and know more. You can't ask for much more than that. Read the blog here.

Northern Comfort


Manchester-based blog that offers great mixes from the likes of Kelvin Brown, Rob Dobson, Chris Morris, Qool DJ Marv and many more as well as some quality finds from the web all delivered with enthusiasm and a lot of humour. Big up the Blackley massive. Read the blog here.

Nearest Far Away Place


This is a new blog that I stumbled upon in recent weeks and instead of treading the same old tired re-edit/obvious disco route they have chosen to look at the more leftfield side of dance, disco and balearica with an obvious amount of knowledge and enthusiasm for the music that they choose to highlight. Read the blog here.

Josh Spear


Josh Spear is a blogger supreme, one of those career bloggers who gets something like a million hits a week and he covers all bases from art to books to music to travel and if there is a prominent event in the world of popular culture then you can bet your arse that Josh will cover it. Read the blog here.

Jeff Staple


Jeff is the owner of The Reed Space in Tokyo and New York as well as the man behind Staple Design. He seems to be perpetually on a plane traveling somewhere doing what he does and he's a kicks man much like myself and whenever he gets a limited edition pair I get massive sneaker envy. He writes eloquently and basically whose who of popular culture seems to find themselves crossing Jeff's path at some point. Read the blog here.

Hypebeast


This is the best thing/worst thing about streetwear and popular culture. Unlike Jeff Spear and Jeff Staple's blogs which people check to find out what is cool in the world of streetwear, it is almost the kiss of death to have your product featured on Hypebeast. Having said that brands were lining up to have their new lines featured at the Magic Trade Show in Las Vegas last month. It can be quite hit and miss as they cover literally everything with seemingly very little quality control but occasionally they uncover a future gem. Check the blog here.

Another Night On Earth


The best thing from South Africa on the web. Run by the incredibly talented Chris Keys, this blog offers the very best in disco, house, balearic and occasionally broken beat/funk with insightful pieces on every record as well as the supreme Press Play series. Check this blog regularly, your record collection needs you to. Read the blog here.

Analog Africa


Quite simply the blog on African music. This is an absolute goldmine of knowledge and tunes that will have you checking it every day waiting for those unbelievably rare finds from the depth of the African diaspora. Incredible blog and you should bookmark it regularly. Read the blog here.

2 comments:

TAWB said...

Big up yourself Marc!

Thanks for the link. African music though - try this bad bwoy

http://bennloxo.com/

Alan Smithy said...

Very kind words Marc, nice to be in such great company. All the best from Brighton.